periphrastic

[ per-uh-fras-tik ]
See synonyms for: periphrasticperiphrastically on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. circumlocutory; roundabout.

  2. Grammar. noting a construction of two or more words having the same syntactic function as an inflected word, as of Mr. Smith in the son of Mr. Smith, which is equivalent to Mr. Smith's in Mr. Smith's son.

Origin of periphrastic

1
1795–1805; <Greek periphrastikós, derivative of periphrázein to use periphrasis. See peri-, phrase, -tic

Other words from periphrastic

  • per·i·phras·ti·cal·ly, adverb
  • un·per·i·phras·tic, adjective
  • un·per·i·phras·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Words Nearby periphrastic

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How to use periphrastic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for periphrastic

periphrastic

/ (ˌpɛrɪˈfræstɪk) /


adjective
  1. employing or involving periphrasis

  2. expressed in two or more words rather than by an inflected form of one: used esp of a tense of a verb where the alternative element is an auxiliary verb. For example, He does go and He will go involve periphrastic tenses

Derived forms of periphrastic

  • periphrastically, adverb

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